The Them And Us Syndrome: Some Opportunities And Threats To Be Faced When Teachers Come From Certain Countries And Students Come From Others

Abstract

Switzerland is a country with particularly strong immigration regulations, which obliges Hospitality Schools to very often restrict their recruitment for instructors to the local labour market. The students, however, mostly come from distant countries. These students naturally bring their own cultural backgrounds and mental programming, which is not necessarily compatible with those of their lecturers. This paper will study potential areas of misunderstandings and communication problems between students and teachers interacting in Swiss Hospitality Management Schools, due to their different cultural backgrounds.